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PREP FOOTBALL: Langdon-E-M wins A title

Langdon Area/ Edmore/Munich players celebrate their state championship against Hillsboro/Central Valley in the Class A championship of the Dakota Bowl Friday in Fargo at the Fargodome. Photo by Eric Hylden
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Langdon Area/ Edmore/Munich defenders celebrate after stopping Hillsboro/Central Valley's Oscar Benson on fourth down late in the fourth quarter in the Class A championship of the Dakota Bowl Friday in Fargo at the Fargodome. photo by Eric Hylden3 / 9

Hillsboro/Central Valley quarterback Micah Gallagher is tackled by Langdon Area/Edmore/Munich's Jesse Fetsch as he pitches to Oscar Benson on a fourth down try in the second quarter. Langdon's Brett Myers is in the background. photo by Eric Hylden/Grand Forks Herald4 / 9

Langdon Area/ Edmore/Munich coach Krivarchka and players celebrate after defeating Hillsboro/Central Valley in the Class A championship of the Dakota Bowl Friday in Fargo at the Fargodome. photo by Eric Hylden5 / 9

HCV's Oscar Benson is stopped by Cardinal defenders including Hunter Feil as he reaches for the endzone but comes up short in the first half Friday. photo by Eric Hylden/Grand Forks Herald6 / 9

Hillsboro/Central Valley's Oscar Benson is brought down by a Langdon Area/ Edmore/Munich defender in the Class A championship of the Dakota Bowl Friday in Fargo at the Fargodome. photo by Eric Hylden7 / 9

Langdon Area/ Edmore/Munich's Jackson Delvo hauls in a touchdown pass as Hillsboro/Central Valley's Gavin Wright defends in the Class A championship of the Dakota Bowl Friday in Fargo at the Fargodome. photo by Eric Hylden8 / 9

Hillsboro/Central Valley fans watch the Burros with concern as the clock winds down against Langdon Area/ Edmore/Munich in the Class A championship of the Dakota Bowl Friday in Fargo at the Fargodome. photo by Eric Hylden9 / 9

FARGO -- Through 45-plus minutes of football, Hillsboro-Central Valley had only three offensive plays that resulted in negative yards.

When Sid Ullyott found his way into the Burros' backfield on consecutive plays, however, that locked up a state championship for Langdon-Edmore-Munich.

The Cardinals' late defensive stop lifted them to a 20-18 win against Hillsboro-CV here Friday in the championship game of the North Dakota Class A high school playoffs.

With the Burros in a third-and-four situation on the L-E-M 12-yard line, Ullyott dropped standout Burros running back Oscar Benson for a 1-yard loss. On fourth down, Ullyott again brought down Benson, this time for minus-four yards.

That turned the ball over to the Cardinals, who ran out the clock.

"Our coaches put me in good position,'' Ullyott said. "I don't know what was going through my head. I was just flying around and reacting to the play.

"Those are probably the two biggest plays I've ever made.''

Hillsboro-CV coach Scott Olsen said he considered trying a field goal for the go-ahead points. "But our long snapper was injured during the game and wasn't playing,'' Olsen said.

"We preached to the kids all week that they would get yards. But if we made them keep running plays, eventually they could make mistakes. Our defense kept coming.''

If it was Ullyott’s tackles that clinched the win, it was sophomore quarterback Simon Romfo who made the plays early to give the Cardinals an insurmountable lead.

In the first half, Romfo had a hand in all three L-E-M touchdowns. The junior passed to Sean Gette for 47 yards and to twin brother Grant Romfo from 1 yard out for TDs.

Then, with 21 seconds left in the first half, Simon Romfo rolled left, sprinted for the goal line and the ball hit the pylon as he dived in for a score. The 2-yard run gave the Cardinals a 20-12 lead with 21 seconds left in the second quarter.

"The linemen were giving me time to throw,'' Simon Romfo said. "The receivers were getting open and making plays. And the coaches drew up good plays. I just had to make the throws.''

The sophomore finished 13-of-26 passing for 211 yards. Nine of his completions came on third downs. Favorite receiver Jackson Delvo had seven catches for 117 yards.

"Simon is a special quarterback,'' Krivarchka said. "We had to run just enough to keep their defense honest. To move the ball and score points, we knew we had to throw. There were some small windows, but he made good throws.''

Hillsboro-CV had first-half touchdowns on runs of 1 yard by Micah Gallagher and 3 yards by Ezra Longthorne. Benson, who finished with 214 rushing yards, scored on a 1-yard run with 7:55 left in the third quarter to pull the Burros within 20-18.

"A lot of mistakes hurt us,'' Olsen said. "Penalties killed us. We had two touchdowns called back because of them.''

Hillsboro-CV closed the season 11-1. Langdon-E-M finished 12-0 and reversed last season's 16-14 loss to the Burros in the state final.

"Last year's seniors got the program moving in the right direction,'' Krivarchka said. "These guys finished the job today.''